Systems and devices exist for tracking a probe such as a catheter or endoscope through the body of a patient. Such systems and devices are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,188,355 entitled Wireless six-degree-of-freedom locator; U.S. Pat. No. 6,226,543 entitled System and method of recording and displaying in context of an image a location of at least one point-of-interest in a body during an intra-body medical procedure; U.S. Pat. No. 6,380,732 entitled Six-degree of freedom tracking system having a passive transponder on the object being tracked; U.S. Pat. No. 6,558,333 entitled System and method of recording and displaying in context of an image a location of at least one point-of-interest in a body during an intra-body medical procedure; U.S. Pat. No. 6,574,498 entitled Linking of an intra-body tracking system to external reference coordinates; U.S. Pat. No. 6,593,884 entitled Intrabody navigation system for medical applications; U.S. Pat. No. 6,615,155 entitled Object tracking using a single sensor or a pair of sensors; U.S. Pat. No. 6,702,780 entitled Steering configuration for catheter with rigid distal device; U.S. Pat. No. 6,711,429 entitled System and method for determining the location of a catheter during an intra-body medical procedure; U.S. Pat. No. 6,833,814 entitled Intrabody navigation system for medical applications; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,996,430 entitled Method and system for displaying cross-sectional images of a body. Each of which is incorporated by reference in their entirety.
In accordance with tracking devices as described above, novel medical procedures may require improved operator interface, beyond just positioning, to improve treatment results or outcome. The treatment of asthma is one such procedure. Devices and methods for treating airway walls are described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/095,323 titled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TREATING SMOOTH MUSCLES IN THE WALLS OF BODY CONDUITS filed Jun. 10, 1998; Ser. No. 10/414,253 titled MODIFICATION OF AIRWAYS BY APPLICATION OF ENERGY filed Apr. 14, 2003; Ser. No. 09/436,455 titled DEVICES FOR MODIFICATION OF AIRWAYS BY TRANSFER OF ENERGY filed Nov. 8, 1999; Ser. No. 09/999,851 titled METHOD FOR TREATING AN ASTHMA ATTACK filed Oct. 25, 2001; Ser. No. 10/810,276 titled METHOD OF TREATING AIRWAYS IN THE LUNG filed Mar. 26, 2004; Ser. No. 10/640,967 titled METHODS OF TREATING ASTHMA filed Aug. 13, 2003; Ser. No. 10/809,991 titled METHODS OF TREATING REVERSIBLE OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE filed Mar. 26, 2004; and Ser. No. 10/954,895 titled INACTIVATION OF SMOOTH MUSCLE TISSUE filed Sep. 30, 2004; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,411,852 titled CONTROL SYSTEM AND PROCESS FOR APPLICATION OF ENERGY TO AIRWAY WALLS AND OTHER MEDIUMS; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,634,363 titled DEVICES FOR MODIFICATION OF AIRWAYS BY TRANSFER OF ENERGY. Along with U.S. Provisional Application Ser. Nos. 60/650,368 filed Feb. 4, 2005; 60/625,256 filed Nov. 5, 2004; and 60/627,662 filed Nov. 12, 2004. Each of the above patent applications, patents and provisional applications are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
Various obstructive airway diseases have some reversible component. Examples include COPD and asthma. Asthma is a disease in which bronchoconstriction excessive mucus production and inflammation and swelling of airways occur, causing widespread but variable airflow obstruction thereby making it difficult for the asthma sufferer to breathe. Asthma is a chronic disorder, primarily characterized by persistent airway inflammation. Asthma is further characterized by acute episodes of additional airway narrowing via contraction of hyper-responsive airway smooth muscle.
In susceptible individuals, asthma symptoms include recurrent episodes of shortness of breath (dyspnea), wheezing, chest tightness and cough. Currently, asthma is managed by a combination of stimulus avoidance and pharmacology. Stimulus avoidance is accomplished via systemic identification and minimization of contact with each type of stimuli. It may, however, be impractical and not always helpful to avoid all potential stimuli.
Pharmacological management of asthma includes long term control through the use of anti-inflammatories and long-acting bronchiodilators. Short term pharmacological management of acute exacerbations may be achieved with use of short-acting bronchiodilators. Both of these approaches require repeated and regular use of prescribed drugs. High doses of corticosteroid anti-inflammatory drugs can have serious side effects that require careful management. In addition, some patients are resistant to steroid treatment. The difficulty involved in patient compliance with pharmacologic management and the difficulty of avoiding stimulus that trigger asthma are common barriers to successful conventional asthma management. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a management system and method that does not require regular patient compliance.
Various energy delivering systems have been developed to intraluminally treat anatomical structures by the controlled application of energy to intraluminal surfaces. Such systems may be specifically configured to deliver energy to lung tissue because of the clinical demands caused by the heterogeneous nature of lung tissue, and specifically, variations in lung tissue lumen size due to the branching pattern of the tracheobronchial tree, variations in the vasculature of the lungs and variations in the type of tissue in the lungs, including cartilage, airway smooth muscle, and mucus glands and ducts. Accordingly, a system designed to delivery energy, and in some particular cases, radio frequency energy, to lung tissue must take these variations into account and deliver energy in a controlled manner.
Medical procedures involving the controlled delivery of therapeutic energy to patient tissue are often demanding and may require a physician to perform several tasks at the same time. In addition, medical procedures or other procedures may require specific energy delivery parameters. As such, what has been needed is an energy delivery system with a user friendly control system that regulates and controls the delivery of energy, prevents operation or energy delivery if a fault in the energy delivery system is detected by the control system and provides the user with information delivered in an easy to understand format so that the information can be readily analyzed during a demanding medical procedure.
In addition, there remains a need to combine the treatment systems described herein with a mapping system that to eventually enable the user to rely on safety measures as well as algorithms to enhance the procedure.